The Latest: Iran doesn’t seek war but will act if necessary

Sailors stand on deck above a hole the U.S. Navy says was made by a limpet mine on the damaged Panama-flagged, Japanese owned oil tanker Kokuka Courageous, anchored off Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, during a trip organized by the Navy for journalists, Wednesday, June 19, 2019. The limpet mines used to attack a Japanese-owned oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz last week bore “a striking resemblance” to similar mines previously seen in Iran, a U.S. Navy explosives expert said Wednesday, stopping short of directly blaming Tehran for the assault. (AP Photo/Fay Abuelgasim)

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Latest on developments in the Persian Gulf region amid rising tensions between Iran and the U.S. (all times local):

1:25 a.m.

Iran says it “does not seek war” but reserves its right under the U.N. Charter “to take all appropriate necessary measures against any hostile act violating its territory.”

Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi says in letters to the U.N. secretary-general and Security Council obtained Thursday by The Associated Press that the Islamic Republic targeted a U.S. drone which violated its airspace and “is determined to vigorously defend its land, sea and air.”

He said Iran acted under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. It allows military action in self-defense “if an armed attack occurs.”

Ravanchi called the U.S. “provocative act … a blatant violation of international law” and the U.N. Charter.

He said: “The international community is called upon to demand the United States to put an end to its continued unlawful and destabilizing measures in the already volatile region of the Persian Gulf.”

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12:45 .m.

Iran is accusing the United States of “a very dangerous and provocative act” and is urging the international community to demand that the U.S. end its unlawful actions and drone spying.

Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi says a U.S. drone despite repeated radio warnings entered into Iranian airspace after conducting “an overflight through the Strait of Hormuz to Chabahar port in a full stealth mode as it had turned off its identification equipment and engaged in a clear spying operation.”

Ravanchi said in a letter to the U.N. secretary-general and the Security Council obtained late Thursday that according to Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff after the “U.S. unmanned aircraft system” entered Iranian airspace and its air defense system targeted “the intruding aircraft.”

He said Iran acted under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter which allows military action in self-defense.

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10:55 p.m.

Iran is accusing the United States of “a very dangerous and provocative act” and is urging the international community to demand that the U.S. end its unlawful actions and drone spying.

Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi said a U.S. drone “despite repeated radio warnings” entered into Iranian airspace after conducting “an overflight through the Strait of Hormuz to Chabahar port in a full stealth mode as it had turned off its identification equipment and engaged in a clear spying operation.”

Ravanchi said in a letter to the U.N. secretary-general and the Security Council obtained late Thursday that according to Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff after the “U.S. unmanned aircraft system” entered Iranian airspace, “the air defense system of the Islamic Republic of Iran” targeted “the intruding aircraft.”

He said Iran acted under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter which allows military action in self-defense “if an armed attack occurs.”

Saudi Arabia says it has shot down a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeting the kingdom.

The rebels have launched an increasing drone and missile campaign against Saudi Arabia amid tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

It comes after Saudi Arabia earlier Thursday said a Houthi rocket targeted a nearby desalination plant. The Houthis say they launched a cruise missile at a power plant in Jizan in that attack.

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9:35 p.m.

The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging all parties to “exercise maximum restraint” and avoid any further escalation following Iran’s shooting down of an American drone.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday that Guterres is “very concerned” and is calling on the parties to “avoid any action that could inflame the situation.”

Dujarric said the secretary-general stresses again “that the world cannot afford a major conflict in that area.”

Iran said the unmanned U.S. Navy drone “violated” its territorial airspace, while the U.S. called its downing an “unprovoked attack” in international airspace over the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Asked whether there should be an investigation and who should carry it out, Dujarric said: “Obviously the facts need to be established. … Various parties are looking into the issue right now.”

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7:50 p.m.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is appealing to “all peace-loving countries” to support American efforts to halt what he called escalating Iranian provocations.

Speaking Thursday at a reception for the New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Netanyahu said that “in the last 24 hours, Iran has intensified its aggression against the United States and against all of us,” adding that “Israel stands by the United States on this.”

He spoke shortly after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. surveillance drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Heightened tensions in recent weeks have raised fears of war between the two countries.

Israeli officials have welcomed Washington’s mounting pressure on Tehran, but steered clear of calling for a conflagration that might put Israel in the line of fire.

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4:55 p.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning the U.S. against using force on Iran, saying it would have catastrophic consequences.

Tensions have been building up recently over last week’s attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, assaults that Washington has blamed on Iran. Iran has denied the accusations.

Speaking on Thursday during a televised call-in show, Putin said the U.S. military action against Iran would be a “catastrophe for the region as a minimum.”

He added that it would trigger an escalation of hostilities with unpredictable results.

Putin noted that Iran has abided by the terms of a nuclear deal despite the U.S. withdrawal, adding that he considers U.S. sanctions against Iran unfounded.

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3:35 p.m.

The U.S. military’s Central Command has confirmed that Iranian forces shot down a U.S. drone, an RQ-4 Global Hawk, saying the downing took place in international airspace and describing it as an “unprovoked attack.”

A statement from CENTCOM says the unmanned aircraft — an RQ-4A Global Hawk maritime surveillance drone — was “shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system while operating in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz” early on Thursday.

The statement further said that “Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false” and that “this was an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset in international airspace.”

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2:20 p.m.

Iran’s foreign ministry has warned the United States over violating Iranian airspace after the Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S drone earlier in the day.

A ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, is quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency as saying that Iran cannot condone the “illegal trespassing and invading of the country’s skies by any kind of foreign flying object.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it shot down the American drone over Iranian airspace, while U.S. officials say it happened over international airspace in the Strait of Hormuz.

Mousavi expressed Iran’s “strong objection” and added that the “invaders will bear full responsibility.”

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12:45 p.m.

Saudi Arabia says Yemen’s Houthi rebels have fired a rocket into the kingdom targeting a desalination plant, but that no one was wounded and the rocket caused no damage.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency on Thursday reported the attack, quoting military spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki. The attack took place late Wednesday night.

The Iranian-backed Houthis through their Al-Masirah satellite channel claimed that they targeted a power plant in Jizan in Saudi Arabia.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders earlier said President Donald Trump had been “briefed on the reports of a missile strike in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

It wasn’t immediately clear why the U.S. would brief Trump over the incident if it caused no damage.

The attack comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran’s collapsing nuclear deal with world powers.

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10:40 a.m.

The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says the shooting down of a U.S. drone has sent “a clear message” to America.

Gen. Hossein Salami said also says that Iran does “not have any intention for war with any country, but we are ready for war.”

His speech was carried live on Iranian state television on Thursday, shortly after U.S. and Iranian officials acknowledged the shooting down of the drone.

The Guard says it shot down the American drone over Iranian airspace, while U.S. officials told The Associated Press the downing happened over international airspace in the Strait of Hormuz.

The different accounts could not be immediately reconciled.

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10:25 a.m.

A U.S. official says that an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down a U.S. drone flying in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity as the information had yet to be cleared for release to the public.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Thursday it shot down a U.S. drone amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over its collapsing nuclear deal.

It said the U.S. drone was flying in Iranian airspace, contradicting the U.S. official.

The reported downing of the RQ-4 Global Hawk comes after the U.S. military previously alleged Iran fired a missile at another drone last week that responded to the attack on two oil tankers near the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. blames Iran for the attack on the ships, something Tehran denies.

—Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates;

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7 a.m.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says the country’s Revolutionary Guard has shot down a U.S. drone. The U.S. military declined to immediately comment.

IRNA said Thursday the drone was hit when it entered Iranian airspace near the Kouhmobarak district in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province.

Capt. Bill Urban, a U.S. Central Command spokesman, declined to comment when asked if an American drone was shot down.

However, he told The Associated Press: “There was no drone over Iranian territory.”

The reported shootdown comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. It takes root in President Donald Trump’s decision a year ago to withdraw America from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

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